President Vo Van Thuong visits soldiers and people of Co To island district

On the occasion of attending the 60th anniversary of the founding of Quang Ninh province, on the morning of October 28, President Vo Van Thuong visited and encouraged the army and people on Co To island district - a border island district located in the Northeast of Quang Ninh province. Accompanying him were members of the Party Central Committee: Le Khanh Hai, Head of the Office of the President ; Senior Lieutenant General Vu Hai San, Deputy Minister of National Defense; Nguyen Xuan Ky, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee.

Co To island district is adjacent to Van Don district with over 50 large and small islands, a total natural area of over 47.2 km2, including 2 communes and 1 town; population of about 6,700 people with 7 ethnic groups living together: Kinh, Tay, Nung, Dao, San Diu, San Chi, Hoa. The district has a sea border of nearly 200 km long, stretching from Tran island of Co To district to Bach Long Vi island district of Hai Phong ; has over 300 km2 of fishing grounds, with a common fishing area. Co To has a particularly important position in terms of national defense and security in the northeastern sea of the Fatherland.

Currently, the infrastructure in Co To has been invested quite synchronously: The national grid electricity system and domestic water supply meet the needs of the people on the island; ports and roads have been solidified; 100% of schools from kindergarten to high school meet standards; basic medical facilities, cultural and sports centers are complete; telecommunications infrastructure is equivalent to the mainland area. The reserve land fund for development is still large and has not been divided into small parts.

In recent years, Co To is considered an attractive tourist destination, worth visiting in the Ha Long - Quang Ninh tourism journey. Every year, Co To welcomes more than 300 thousand tourists to visit and relax. The strength of Co To tourism is shown through the wild beauty of the beaches with clear water, gentle shores and a tropical primeval forest ecosystem that is almost completely preserved. Co To is also considered the most biodiverse sea area in Vietnam with the presence of many typical ecosystems of tropical seas, including concentrated coral reef ecosystems. This is also an area rich in seafood structure with many rare and valuable species such as: Lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, sea urchin, crab, grouper, squid, horn coral...

As soon as he arrived in Co To island district, President Vo Van Thuong and the delegation attended the solemn flag-raising ceremony at the National Sovereignty Flagpole on the island and respectfully offered flowers and incense to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh - the great leader of the Party, State and people of Vietnam at the special national relic - President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site on the island. More than 60 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh visited Co To island. The event of Uncle Ho visiting the island and his statue being present in the sea of Co To island demonstrates the far-sighted vision and strategic thinking of the Party, State and President Ho Chi Minh on the role and position of the sea and islands in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland.

Before the spirit of President Ho Chi Minh, President Vo Van Thuong expressed his infinite gratitude for his great contributions and noble sacrifices to the revolutionary cause of the nation. He devoted and sacrificed his whole life to the cause of national liberation, fighting for peace and happiness of the people.

Visiting the army and people on the island district, President Vo Van Thuong and the delegation met, visited, and presented many gifts and national flags to fishermen at the anchorage and storm shelter area of the Co To Island Fisheries Service Logistics Center. The President kindly inquired about their living conditions, seafood exploitation and fishing; at the same time, he hoped that the fishermen would always pay attention to ensuring safety, operating in the permitted fishing grounds; strictly complying with the provisions of international law and the provisions of Vietnamese law on seafood exploitation. Along with that, it is necessary to ensure good safety factors, strive to go to sea to achieve high output, exploit seafood with good results, contributing to the socio-economic development of the district and protecting the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Visiting, presenting gifts and encouraging officers and soldiers of Co To Island Battalion (under Brigade 242, Military Region 3), the President acknowledged and commended the efforts and endeavors of officers and soldiers on the island; overcoming all difficulties and hardships on the outpost island to firmly protect the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland. The President asked officers and soldiers of Co To Island Battalion to strive to study, practice, improve their political qualities, and firmly manage the airspace and sea of the Fatherland. The President also requested unit commanders to pay more attention to improving living conditions, accommodation, and meals for officers and soldiers on the island, because these are basic conditions for officers and soldiers to ensure their health, thereby performing well all assigned tasks. Sharing the difficulties and shortages of the soldiers on the island, the President hoped that the officers and soldiers of the Battalion would maintain the qualities and bravery of Uncle Ho's soldiers, uphold the spirit of effort, overcome difficulties, and be ready to receive and complete tasks well in all situations.

Meeting and talking with the Party Committee, government, army and people of Co To island district, President Vo Van Thuong expressed his emotion when revisiting Co To island district, witnessing the remarkable changes in the appearance of this place compared to more than 10 years ago, when the President visited the island. From a poor island district, with many difficulties, lacking important infrastructure essential for people's lives such as electricity, water, traffic infrastructure, 85% of the population are poor households; up to now, Co To has become a well-off island district, with convenient internal transportation and easy and smooth connections between the island and the mainland.

The President also expressed his impression of witnessing the improvement and enhancement of the material and spiritual life of the islanders, and the development of social culture. There are no more poor households, no beggars, no drugs, no theft on the island. The schools are spacious and fully equipped. Medical examination and treatment, and primary health care for the people are guaranteed. Life on the island is bustling, becoming an attractive tourist destination, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign visitors.

Regarding the tasks in the coming time, President Vo Van Thuong requested the Party Committee, government, armed forces and people on the island to always be deeply aware of the importance of the strategic and important position of the Northeast sea of the Fatherland. From there, clearly defining the task of firmly protecting the sovereignty of Co To island as the most important task; regularly raising the spirit of vigilance, resolutely handling acts of violating the sovereignty of the island, not being passive and surprised; strengthening close coordination between forces to build a solid defense area.

In particular, the island district needs to further promote the development of potentials and advantages to build a constantly growing island district, especially in exploitation, fishing, aquaculture, sustainable protection of aquatic resources, becoming a solid logistics area for ships. Along with that, it is necessary to focus on environmental protection, resource management, actively protect forests, build the district into an ecological center for conservation and promotion of biodiversity, becoming a green island district.

The island district continues to care for both the material and spiritual life of the people; invests in education for children on the island; focuses on Party building and rectification, building the political system; strengthens national defense capacity, equips modern means for rescue forces; and improves living conditions for officers and soldiers on the island.

The President believes that by promoting the tradition, solidarity and unity of the Party Committee, army and people of the island district, Co To will successfully complete the assigned tasks, building the island district to become increasingly rich, beautiful and civilized.

On this occasion, the President visited and presented gifts to Mr. Nguyen Van Loc, the person with the highest Party membership on the Island with 59 years of Party membership, in Zone 3, Co To town; in particular, Mr. Loc's family has had 3 generations of persistently sticking to the sea./.

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